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Kingston News May 14, 2020

Queen’s University is asking faculty and staff to plan to deliver their courses remotely this fall.

During a town hall meeting yesterday university official said most course delivery will need to be done through remote means even if students are physically present in Kingston.

The big problem is physical distancing.

To accommodate two-metre physical distancing measures, classroom capacities would likely be reduced to 10 to 25 per cent of their normal capacity.

Body of Fetus Found

Residents of a downtown Kingston apartment building say the body of a fetus has been found in the stairwell of their building.

Kingston Police were called to the building at 381 Bagot Street around 6:30 Tuesday night after it was discovered. Police have not released any further information.

The building is operated by the Kingston and Frontenac Housing Corporation.

A resident of the building says detectives approached her with pictures of three women yesterday, but she didn’t recognize any of them.

OPP – Drug Trafficking

Lennox and Addington County OPP have charged two people from Kingston with drug trafficking after a traffic stop on the 401 near Odessa.

An officer stopped the vehicle with unregistered plates and could see drugs in plain view while speaking to the driver.

26-year-old Cecil Clayton Merkley has been charged with trafficking crystal meth and other drugs.

22-year-old Chelsey Merkley faces the same drug trafficking charges plus charges for driving while under suspension and operating a motor vehicle without insurance.

COVID – Ontario Restrictions

Premier Doug Ford is expected to provide details today on the first stage of Ontario’s reopening plan.

The CBC has obtained a copy of a news release outlining the plan to allow the reopening of retail stores that are not in malls, as well as seasonal businesses, pet services, household cleaning and maintenance, and in-person health and counselling services.

The province is also expected to lift essential workplace limits on construction and allowing picnics in parks.

The news release suggests that some restrictions on seasonal businesses will be lifted as early as this Saturday, for the start of the Victoria Day long weekend, including golf courses, marinas, private campgrounds and places that provide animal boarding.

The Kingston region continues to be clear of newly confirmed cases of COVID-19. There have been no new cases for almost three weeks in the region and all 61 confirmed cases have recovered.

COVID – Property Taxes

The City of Kingston is deferring the final property tax billing due at the end of June.

A news release from the city says it is reviewing alternate timelines for the final billing.

It says additional information on the alternate timeline and tax relief strategies, will be communicated, once available.

COVID – Tam

Canada chief public health officer is asking Canadians not to forget the hard lessons learned during the pandemic.

She notes that while almost half of Canadians confirmed to have been infected have now recovered, Ontario and Quebec are still seeing hundreds of new cases every day.

Doctor Theresa Tam says Canadians in communities where COVID-19 is still spreading should wear non-medical masks when physical distancing is not an option.

COVID-Beer

Steam Whistle brewery is asking consumers to bring back their empty bottles.

The company says there could be shortages of Steam Whistle beer in the coming months unless it’s able to recover and reuse more empties.

The Beer Store temporarily stopped accepting empties in March but has since allowed returns to resume at most locations.